


A Song For The Heart

by Sandyclaws68



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, F/M, Gen, It's all Katie: no one calls her Pidge, Ponytail Keith, Singing, choir, mutual crushing
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-09-21
Updated: 2017-09-21
Packaged: 2019-01-03 18:45:52
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,567
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12152601
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sandyclaws68/pseuds/Sandyclaws68
Summary: There are three things that make high school junior Katie Holt's life difficult:1) Her physics teacher's habit of calling her by her brother's name2) Her annoying "genius matchmaker" best friendAnd3) Her ever-growing crush on the cute boy in her choir class with dark hair and the voice of an angel.





	A Song For The Heart

“. . . and I know you think you can put this off because you're just a junior but I assure you getting a jump on things never hurt anyone. And furthermore. . .”

Katie Holt let the voice of her guidance counselor fade into a steady drone at the back of her mind. It wasn't that she disliked Mr. Coran; quite the contrary. And she knew his advice was worth listening to, but at that moment she just wasn't in the mood. Earlier that day her physics teacher had called her Matt for the third time that week, making her wonder if forty was too young for Alzheimer's, and her best friend Lance was ignoring her in favor of (desperately) trying to get a date with the senior class president, the beautiful Allura Altea. Although admittedly she didn't find that nearly as annoying as his constant attempts to set her up with -

“Kathryn, I know this is all horribly boring, but I'd appreciate it if you would at least pretend to listen.”

Katie felt heat climb her cheeks and dropped here eyes. “Sorry, Mr. Coran. I don't mean to rude.”

He nodded at her. “Apology accepted. Now, back to what I was saying. I think you need to consider this choir work as more than easy class credit. If you officially join the choir it will give you another extra-curricular activity, which will look good when you start your college applications, and -”

“And a non-academic activity will look even better, because it makes me appear more well-rounded,” Katie finished with a grin. “You've been telling me that since the end of my freshman year.”

“It's still true,” the counselor replied with an answering smile. “And it especially looks good if it's more than one year's worth.” He laughed when she rolled her eyes. “Just promise me you'll think about it.”

And she did think about it; considering the class she had immediately after the meeting was choir it was difficult not to. When she entered the large music room she waved to the few people she was on friendly terms with before sliding into a seat at the very back of the contralto section, determined to hide for the duration. She had a feeling that her focus – never exceptional in this class – would be totally shot.

“Anytime you feel like joining us, Holt.”

Katie suddenly became aware of the silence in the room after Ms. Ezor spoke. There was no chatter, no buzz of voices running scales to warm-up, no sounds of the piano. She flushed bright red and gave a curt nod to acknowledge the director's words before averting her eyes.

Which turned out to be the worst thing, because as soon as she turned her head she met a pair of eyes so blue they were nearly purple, just visible behind a messy mop of blue-black hair. It hardly seemed possible but her blush deepened, burning up to the tips of her ears. Luckily one of his fellow baritones caught his attention and he turned away, allowing her to breathe a bit more easily. The stubby ponytail at his neck kind of put a cramp in that plan, though.

“So we're gonna focus on the sixteen bars leading into the solo today,” Ms. Ezor announced as she sat at the piano. “We'll go over the coda if the rest is up to snuff.” She ran her hands over the keyboard, the melody of the piece they were working on ringing out. “And I'll need your names, boys, if you intend to audition as the soloist.”

****~**~**~**~**~****

After the morning she had Katie couldn't get out of the music room fast enough, but a group of boys were clustered in front of the door, blocking the way and conversing in low voices. Low, that is, until one suddenly spoke up much louder.

“Are you auditioning for the solo, Kogane?”

Katie kept her head down and pretended to search her book bag for something, waiting for the answer. It came, as usual, in a soft voice that sounded like warm honey.

“It's a tenor solo, and I'm not a tenor.”

“Technicalities, Keith!” one of the other boys chimed in. “Everyone knows you have the largest vocal range of all of us; Ezor just put you with the baritones because she was short on those voices. You can easily manage a tenor solo!”

With a tide of pink washing across his face Keith Kogane moved away from the group. “I haven't really decided yet,” he said, pushing through the gang towards the door. Katie took advantage of the aisle he made to get out as well, breathing a sigh of relief when she was in the hallway. She walked away as rapidly as she could, head down, but it wasn't fast enough.

“Holt. Hey, Holt!”

She staggered mid-step and took a deep breath before turning to face the boy who had called. Keith trotted down the hall to her, digging something out of his bag as he did.

“You have World History with Mr. Alfor after lunch, right?” When she nodded he went on. “Could you do me a favor? I have his class last period, but I have to leave early for a doctor's appointment, and this project is due today.” He held out a folder. “Can you turn it in for me? I'd really appreciate it.”

Katie took the folder, handling it a little gingerly, but it wasn't until Keith coughed that she realized she hadn't actually responded to his request. “Uh, yeah, sure. I'll make sure he gets it.” She started to walk away and almost tripped over her feet in surprise when he fell in step beside her. Her brain scrambled to find something to say that didn't involve an opinion on the weather. “You're um, not sick, are you? With the doctor?”

Keith chuckled and shook his head. “Nah, nothing like that. I failed the eye test for my driver's license so I have to see an optometrist.” He glanced sidelong at his companion. “Can you imagine me in glasses?”

She could, quite well, and the mental image caused her entire body to heat. She very deliberately removed her own specs and cleaned them on the tail of her shirt. “I'm sure it won't be that bad,” she commented.

“Shit! I didn't mean it like that, Holt,” Keith blurted out, looking mortified at the inadvertent insult. He seemed to want to quickly move past the topic of glasses because he went on, abruptly changing the subject. “You really should put a bit more effort into choir,” he said. “I think you have a nice voice, when you bother to use it.”

“You sound like my guidance counselor,” she replied, sounding aggrieved. At his questioning look she elaborated. “Mr. Coran keeps telling me I should be doing it as more than a class; that I should actually join and take part in all practices and performances.”

“You should,” was the firm reply. “You're a great addition to the group. I mean, quality sopranos are a dime-a-dozen, but a good contralto is worth her weight in gold, practically. We're always short of girls in that section, and Ms. Ezor knows it. She'd probably kiss your feet if you properly joined.”

“It'd be tough to pass that offer up,” Katie laughed. “So I'll think about it, okay?”

Keith smiled at her and her knees got weak. “If that's the best I'm gonna get I'll take it.” He glanced at his watch and started. “Damn, I'm gonna be late!” He started down the corridor at top speed, turning back once to call out. “I'm holding you to it, Holt!”

“Then you'd better start calling me Katie!”

He waved in acknowledgment and with one last bemused chuckle she turned and pushed open the cafeteria door, making her way to the regular table she occupied with her friends.

“Dost mine eye deceive or was that Keith Kogane, music department heartthrob extraordinaire, talking to you in the hall?”

And sometimes not-friends. She slung her bag off her shoulder, making sure it cuffed Lance on the back of the head as she did so. “Yes, that was Keith, and no, it wasn't significant.” She pulled out a chair and flopped into it. “He just wanted me to turn in an assignment of his to Mr. Alfor, since he has a doctor's appointment and will miss class this afternoon.” She looked around the cavernous room. “Where's Hunk?”

“He had that interview at the vocational institute, remember? And nice try on changing the subject, but I'm not letting it go.” Lance put his elbows on the table and his face in his hands, leaning in close. “Why did Kogane ask you to hand in the assignment, hmm? I'm pretty sure he isn't in the class with you.”

Katie sighed and pushed a hand through her hair. She didn't doubt the extent of Lance's knowledge; he was like a spider at the center of Voltron High's gossip web. If something was happening at their school that Lance didn't know about it simply wasn't worth knowing. “No, he has the same course, but during last period. And he asked me to hand it in because I was convenient.” And she told how he had approached her after choir with his request.

“Convenient. Right.” Her friend was staring at her with a predatory gleam in his eyes that made Katie squirm, but thankfully he seemed to think his final comment was more than enough and let the subject drop.

****~**~**~**~**~****

It was just about a week later before Katie made her final decision about the choir, and she had to stifle the urge to laugh when Ms. Ezor all but wriggled in happiness when she was told. Keith had been right about the need for decent contraltos, and the vocal director was more than welcoming.

The way Keith smiled at her was just the icing on the cake. Well, that and his new glasses. But his walking her to the cafeteria was definitely a surprise.

“Well, I did my part on thinking about something,” she said with a quick smile. “Now what about you?”

“What was I supposed to be thinking about?”

“The solo, of course! Are you going to audition?”

“Yeah, that.” He looked somewhat disgruntled at being reminded. “I don't think I will; I already get enough dirty looks from a lot of the tenors, I don't need to 'horn in' on their action even more.”

Katie snorted. “Are they that petty and insecure that they'd object to someone with a better voice having a solo?” There was a sound like a strangled cough beside her and when she looked Keith's face was a shade of red to rival his shirt. “Are you all right?” she asked, laying a hand on his elbow.

“Yeah, I, uh. . .” He coughed and tugged his glasses off to wipe at his eyes. “Do you really think I have a better voice than most of the guys in our group?”

Pink stained her cheeks. “Well, I don't really know enough about the technicalities of vocal work, but. . .” She dropped her gaze to the floor. “I like your voice.” Then she all but ran for the cafeteria, making her escape from those mesmerizing eyes. She collapsed into a chair at her regular table, catching Hunk's eye as she did.

“Do I even want to know?” he asked, taking note of her flushed face and the agitated motion of her fingers on the strap of her bag.

Katie twitched at the sound of another voice then looked around for Lance. Not spotting brown hair and a lanky form anywhere she turned back to Hunk. “You can know, but if you tell Lance I _will_ kill you.”

“I take it from the killing part that this has something to do with Kogane.”

She sighed and leaned back in the chair, slouching until her chin was nearly level with the tabletop. “I may have just done something really stupid.” She gave him a rundown of the brief conversation on the way to the cafeteria. “I think it's the glasses,” she said with another sigh. “It's like they draw more attention to those damned eyes of his, and whenever I look into them my brain shuts down and I -”

Hunk's laughter could no longer be contained and it burst out of him, drowning out her words and drawing a lot of unwanted attention to them. “Oh. My. God,” he managed to gasp out. “You have it soooooooooooo bad it's hilarious!” He laughed a little bit more before catching the look on her face. “I, uh, I mean that's horrible that you embarrassed yourself like that.”

“Nice save, Garrett.”

Hunk grinned. “Okay, but seriously, what was so bad about that conversation? Just because you told him – out loud – that you think he has a great singing voice? That's hardly a suicide-inducing offense.”

“Well, yeah, but -”

“You will never believe what I just overheard in the boys bathroom!” Lance's voice caroled across the length of the cafeteria, making many of the younger students cringe. When Katie caught the expression on her friend's face she started to pray that the earth would swallow her whole before he made it to the table.

“Ewww, Lance! Nobody wants to know about overhearing _that_!” Hunk responded, giving his head a disgusted shake. The motion turned his head towards Katie and he winked at her; a promise that he would do his best to keep Lance off her back.

“What are you talking - Seriously, Hunk? That is beyond disgusting, even by my definition.” Lance shuddered and then looked from one friend to the other. “And what I heard was much, much more interesting.” His gaze ended up laser-focused on Katie. “It was Kogane, waxing poetic to a couple of his friends about the cute girl with the glasses and hair the color of honey.” He reached out and tugged at a lock of Katie's hair (conspicuously honey colored) that was hanging at her ear. “Now, he didn't actually mention any names but he did say he was planning on inviting the mystery girl to one of his band's performances this weekend, so. . .”

Katie's face was flaming but she kept her attitude stoic. “There are over twelve hundred students in this school, Lance, and I'm sure there are plenty of girls with glasses and -”

“Ahhh, but only one that he had been in class with shortly before the trip to the bathroom,” Lance interrupted, placing a finger on her lips to still the words. “Whatever you've been doing the last few days seems to have captured his attention.” He leaned back in his chair and shrugged. “Guess you don't need my matchmaking skills after all.”

Hunk snorted. “What matchmaking skills, exactly? The only reason Shay and I got together was her asking me out. You didn't do a damned thing!”

“I told you that she liked you, didn't I?”

“Yeah, and that was so helpful when I was too shy to ask her out. Luckily she had more guts.” Hunk crossed his arms over his chest as he settled back in his chair. “But we can always test your so-called skills,” he went on as he cocked his head toward one of the doors. “I just saw Allura walk past.”

Lance was out of his chair and halfway across the room so fast he might have been shot out of a gun. The clang of the door handle as he pushed on it was audible even over the buzz of conversation, and more than half of the students turned toward the sound, but Lance was already out the door and chasing after what Katie was convinced was a phantom Allura. She turned to Hunk with one eyebrow raised.

He shrugged in response. “It got him off of your back, didn't it?”

****~**~**~**~**~****

Katie managed to shove all thoughts of Keith out of her mind until after dinner that evening. Her homework took almost no time at all so it wasn't much of a distraction. She was looking up old videos of the school's choir on YouTube when her phone rang. The number was unfamiliar, but local, so she decided to answer it. “Hello?”

Silence greeted her, except for the sound of a deep inhale. Then. . .

“Hey, Holt.”

She almost dropped the phone in surprise at the sound of Keith's voice. Her breath caught in her throat and she had to cough before she could speak. And when she did the words were the last thing she would have expected to come out of her mouth. “I thought I told you to call me Katie.”

“Okay. Katie.” A soft chuckle followed the words and she could feel her face heating. She opened her mouth to speak, and ask how her had gotten her number, but he went on. “You're wondering how I got your number, aren't you? My brother and your brother are roommates at Galra State, and I guess Matt thought I seemed harmless enough?”

“Roommates?” Katie asked, trying to connect the dots in her brain. “Shiro is your brother?” she finally blurted out, unable to avoid sounding surprised. “But, your last names. . .” She trailed her words off, realizing how rude that sounded.

“Yeah, well, technically cousins,” he explained, not sounding at all offended. “My dad and his mom were siblings, so when his parents were killed in a car crash when he was eight we became brothers in spirit.”

“So Shiro convinced Matt to give you my number, I take it?” She laughed a little. “I guess it's okay, although Matt and I are going to have a talk about this sort of thing next time he comes home.” She pushed her pillow into a more comfortable position behind her back. “So what's up?”

“I, uh. . . well. . .” She wanted to giggle at the embarrassed stuttering from the other end of the phone but when she remembered Lance's report of Keith wanting to invite “the mystery girl” to one of his band's performances she decided to wait the awkwardness out. “I was just thinking about how you said you like my singing voice, and. . . ummm. . .” He took a deep breath. “Would you like to come see my band perform this weekend? We're doing a five song set at the Fashion Festival on Saturday evening.”

Katie was impressed. “How'd you swing that?” she asked. “I thought they'd only book experienced acts for such a gathering.”

“I'll not lie,” he began, sounding both proud and amused, “our drummer's mom knows Lotor, the headlining designer for the festival. They went to college together, or something, so she got us an audition. And because he's a hometown guy he was eager to showcase up-and-coming hometown talent.” There was a pause. “So, will you come?”

She fought down the bubble of excitement that was growing in her chest. “I'll have to check with my parents to make sure they don't have anything planned for that night. Can I let you know for sure tomorrow at school?”

“Sure, no problem. I'll see you in class and then choir practice in the afternoon, right?”

Katie agreed, and they exchanged a final few pleasantries before hanging up. Once the call was ended she resisted the urge to press the phone to her heart like a lovesick idiot, but she didn't hesitate to save Keith's number.

****~**~**~**~**~****

By the time Saturday evening rolled around Katie was a mass of internally writhing nerves, her stomach tied up in knots. If asked she couldn't really explain it; it wasn't like this was an actual _date_ , after all. Just one friend inviting another to an event that was of some importance. And she was successfully ignoring the voice in her head that insisted otherwise until she got in the car with her parents and her phone chimed with a text message.

<Have your 'rents go to park entrance

on Zarkon ST tell the gate monitor that

You're my guest>

<He'll let you park in the festival

staff lot you'll be backstage for show

hope that's ok>

She passed the instructions on to her dad before texting back an acknowledgment, smiling when the only reply was a grinning emoji.

The drive to the park didn't take very long, and they had no trouble getting into the staff parking area, just as Keith had promised. Katie walked ahead of her parents toward the stage that was one of the park's permanent fixtures, eyes scanning for blue black hair and a stubby ponytail. It wasn't easy, since she was so short and Keith below average height, but she eventually spotted him, talking to a slightly older boy who's blond hair had a dyed pink lightning streak at his right temple. She was about to call out when his head turned and he spotted her, waving an arm before beckoning her over.

“Katie!” he called out. “I'm glad you made it.” He nodded a greeting to her parents, then turned to the blond at his side. “This is Rick Dartmouth, our lead guitarist. Rick, this is my classmate Katie Holt, and her parents, the Doctors Holt.”

Dartmouth acknowledged each introduction politely, shaking Sam Holt's hand and grinning at Katie. “It's a pleasure, folks, but we have to get on stage for a sound check before the set. Keith?”

“Yeah, yeah, I'm right behind you.” Keith handed all three of them pasteboard badges that identified them as guests of a performer so they wouldn't get removed from the backstage area before taking off at a run to catch up to his band mate. Katie couldn't help but grin after him, but stopped when she caught the knowing look on her mother's face.

“Don't, Mom. Just don't.” The words were slightly muffled by the hands pressed to her face.

Sam Holt looked back and forth between his wife and daughter, confused. “Don't what? What have I missed?”

“Not a thing, dear,” Colleen assured him, before patting Katie on the shoulder. “We'll meet you back at the car in four hours. Have fun!” And she tugged her still confused and vaguely protesting husband away.

Katie rolled her eyes as they walked away, making her way closer to the stage. She watched as the sound check went on, fascinated by how each tiny tweak of a switch or dial on the sound board made a noticeable difference. But then the band started to play one of the songs they'd be performing and as soon as Keith started to sing she was riveted. The vocal started soft and measured, growing stronger and louder until it all but exploded out of him with the line _You set my heart on fire!_. She felt her breath catch in her throat and she practically wanted to cry when they stopped for another adjustment.

They played more bits of music, continuously adjusting the balance of all the sounds, but Keith didn't sing any more. Katie was surprised when he strapped on a guitar, though, and told him so when they came off stage.

“I only really started to play seriously about two years ago, so I'm not quite on a par with Rick,” he said as he carefully packed the instrument away. “We've got about fifteen minutes before the set, so let me introduce you to the rest of the guys.”

****~**~**~**~**~****

Bu the time the fifth song finished Katie was all but vibrating with excitement. She waited backstage, handing Keith a towel when he approached, followed by a bottle of water. By the time he had his guitar put away she couldn't contain herself any longer.

“That was amazing! You really have a great voice! You should do all of the men's solos in choir, grumpy tenors be damned!” The words tumbled out of her without any conscious thought. “I loved every minute of it, but I'm a little disappointed it was only five songs? Why don't you do more? And what about the band name? Red Lion Brigade? Where did that come from?”

Keith laughed at her exuberance. “We don't do full length sets because I'm still a minor. Once I turn eighteen we'll be able to do more, and longer, gigs.” He pulled the tie out of his hair and poured the rest of the bottle of water over his head, slicking the wet hair back and re-tying the ponytail before continuing. “When I was a kid I had this red, stuffed lion, and it was the first thing that came to mind when we were all thinking of names. The other guys liked it, so. . .” He blotted excess water off his face before looking around. “Your parents didn't stick around?”

She shook her head. “They said we'd meet back at the car in four hours, which is now -” She glanced at her watch. “ - two hours and forty-five minutes. I don't know what I'm going to do with the rest of the time.”

“Well, ummm, I thought we could go get something to eat at one of the food stalls,” he responded. In the fading light his face looked rather pink. “Then maybe play a few games, go on a couple of rides. You know, the kinds of things people do at festivals?”

Katie laughed. “Wow, Keith, if I didn't know any better I'd think you meant this evening as a date!” She watched as his face flamed and she felt her jaw drop as realization struck. “It. . . I mean. . .” She swallowed loudly. “Is this a date?”

Keith dropped his eyes and nodded sheepishly. “I mean, it is, if that's what you want.” He was talking to the ground instead of her at that point. “It's what I'd like.”

“You could have just told me when you asked. How hard would that have been? Katie, I like you, I find you interesting, and would like to take you on a date.” She shrugged and rubbed the back of her neck. “I would have gotten the point much faster that way.”

He picked his head up and their eyes met. “I thought I was being pretty obvious,” he whispered, stepping the tiniest bit closer so she could feel the warmth of his body. “And if asking you out wasn't obvious I thought the song definitely was.” And he softly sang:

_There'll be no more darkness when you believe in_

_Yourself you are unstoppable_

_Where your destiny lies_

_Dancing on the blades you set my heart on fire_

“That is so cheesy,” Katie replied in the same soft voice. “But kind of romantic too.” She felt her face heat. “So I guess that means I wanted this to be a date as well.”

“Well then let's make it official.” He quickly bent and pulled his glasses out of the bag by his guitar case and donned them, adopting a serious mien. “Kate Holt, will you do me the honor of accompanying me to the festival as my date?” he asked, sketching a quick bow that made her giggle.

“I would very much like that, Keith,” she answered, sliding her hand into his.

They had gone maybe twenty steps together, fingers entwined and shoulders rubbing companionably, when he spoke again.

“I'm glad I listened to McClain' advice; he said you couldn't resist me in my glasses.”

Katie chuckled in response but didn't speak; she was too busy plotting Lance's murder. If he was lucky she'd let him live until he finally got his date with Allura.

**Author's Note:**

> The song performed by the band Red Lion Brigade - and sung much more intimately by Keith to Katie - is [History Maker by Dean Fujioka](https://youtu.be/wWkW_tMwOfc), AKA the Yuri!!! On Ice opening theme. Besides the fact that I love the song I think it's very strong vocally, which is what I was trying to showcase for Keith in the context of this story.


End file.
